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Chevrolet Equinox Real World MPG

Comments

I have posted here before on mileage results while driving an 11 Equinox and 11 Terrain with the same equipment levels but different tire sizes. Both are FWD with 4 cyl engines so my comparisons have some validity.

To wit, I am getting low to mid 20's on either car while doing city driving primarily including stop and go as well as freeway in the metro area, on occasions I use the eco mode but not often. My DIC always seems to indicate about 1/2 mpg more that physical methods of fill up and divide into miles driven but under prolonged freeway driving at 65mph at 1900 rpm, my mileage on both cars goes from 28 to 31 average per tank. The Terrain has had the actuator replacement and ECM module reflash and the Nox has had nothing done. My post is that I cannot entirely blame GM for the EPA ratings maybe just how they presented them to the public but In 40 years of car buying from pick ups to vans to 4 WD's. My point simply is this, if you think you can get the 32 mpg driving less than conservatively, you might be disapointed, if you expectt 32 MPG @ 70/75 MPH, then you are in for a rude awakening. IMHO.

'if you expectt 32 MPG 70/75 MPH, then you are in for a rude awakening. IMHO. '

I would agree. I have gotten 26.5 MPG on our 6Cyl AWD Terrain (rated at 22MPG HWY) on a couple trips (one about 500 miles and another 1100 miles over a few days). They were mostly flat road and warm temps (but cool enough to leave A/C off) and set the cruise at 57MPH . Many don't like to drive that slow but it does help. Tach is about 1450 at that speed and I also try to match the tach number on slow speed limit roads when I can.

Might be interesting to have someone with the 4cyl FWD take a little road trip of 20 miles or so and try that MPH with cruise and reset of average MPG and see on it does .

your comments are interesting , but I would to say Gm advertised the equinox & terrain FWD as obtaining 46 mpg ( this is in Canada ) our gals are 1\3 bigger than your us gals or 6,2 litres per 100 kms, the AWD version is rated as getting 6.9 liters per 100 kms or 41 mpg , of course this is under ideal conditions , ie weather no a/c and driving conservatively , which my wife & I always do . the speed limit here is 100 kms /hr which we do not exceed , when we overtake it is done with out downshifting ( it is possible) on various fuel tests runs we have not been able to come close to GM claims , I have installed a chip to try and improve economy and pahaps got 2 extra mpg in cold weather , so am going to do another accurate test when it warms up some . Ido not expect the mileage they claim driving like Sterling moss or 70/75 which we never do ,but would like to come close to the rating Gm claims , they should have presented to the customer you may get what we advertise ,but in reality you will get much less.

As an update to my last post we just returned from a round trip run to Key West, FL and back to Cocoa Beach and return home to metro Atlanta.

Total miles driven by DIC was 1897 with speeds going from 65 mph/min to 75 mph + max with air on and off DIC mpg average was from a low of 26.5 to a high of 30.2. I have not calculated the fuel cost of the trip yet feel that the Terrain was with in 1/2 miles mpg of the DIC.

Hope this helps all who have had negative expierences with the Nox or Terrain but with the actuator rework and reflash of the ECM, I feel the car lived up to its claims and we just topped 20,500 miles on this trip.

I have a 2012 4cyl FWD and about 1300 miles only on it. The 3 highway trips of 60 miles each way I averaged 28.5. On 1 occasion I drove at 55 for about15 miles and it was alittle more than 29 mpg.It might have been more if I drove longer.When I drive to work its about 7 miles one way with 7 stop lights(which are hit and miss) and the speed limit is 25 for 2 miles and 35 for 2 miles and 55 for 3 miles.There I have 24.5.We are going on a trip this summer and will report back on mpg. When I looked at the window sticker last week I got a chuckle. Hwy mpg said something like 26-38. I thought 38 must be going down a mountain only. I have never hit 30 mpg yet. Maybe with a 40mph wind behind me might help.

I think the consumer ought to take GM to court on fraud.I would put the hwy mpg at 26-30 at best.If you ever get over that I would buy a lotto ticket.

I have a 2011 FWD 4 cyl Equinox LT and am only getting 22.4 mpg mixed city & highway. On a long trip, I'm lucky to get 24.5 mpg. The only response I get from the dealer and GM customer service is "The car needs to break in". I have 14,000 miles on it now and still getting the same lousy mileage. I had a 2010 FWD 4cyl Equinox LT that got great gas mileage - 27 mixed city & highway and 31 on trips. Had to trade it out due to a faulty computer. I just can't believe that GM made that many changes in 1 model year that the mpg would change that much. I certainly haven't changed my driving habits so it has to be something they did in their model change. I'm very disappoointed in GM and feel that they have mislead the public when they say the Equinox gets great gas mileage and 600 miles between fillups. I get mad every time I see that commercial. I have driven GM products for over 35 years but I doubt that I will ever buy another GM product unless the company can come up with a solution to the mpg problem.

We just passed 10k miles on our 11 4WD Nox. We do live in a hilly area and we do little highway driving. I am the slowest turtle coming away when the light changes and I coast whenever possible.

However, day to day I cannot get the gas to 20 mpg, let alone 22, 24.5, etc. Even at 60 mph on a flat highway across a lake, it tops out at instantaneous readout of about 24.5.

I've had the reflash etc. done (but that was mostly cos the car kept stalling in mid-road), and it hasn't helped worth a damn.

I come here to read with wonder the tales of people getting 30 or so on long trips. But frankly, it really rankles when other people come on here saying that owners like me just have unrealistic expectations.

A car that is advertised as the Nox was should not be getting an average of about 19.

Then again, I have to ask myself just why am I complaining? It got 17 when I first bought it. Thank goodness it's broken in now! (sarcasm alert)

If your vehicle is still under the total warranty period, I would take it into a good dealer and have them check out your engine electronics and drive train. There should be no reason that these cars cannot acheive the 25MPG combined estimates that are advertised. I have hit 30/32 mpg on the driver info center average on long trips at moderate speeds with the econ on but never consistently and my GMC now has 23000 miles and Equinox has 18000 miles, mid 20's are realistic and probably the best you can expect under average driving conditions. Good luck.

I understand how you feel , our equinox awd only acheived 32 mpg ( cdn gals are 1/3 bigger than us ) GM advertised getting 41 , like hell !!! instaneous readout useless ,fluctuates wildly , anyway installed a performance chip ( possible gains up to + 6 mpg ) and last long run got 37+ still short but an improvement . We drive very economicaly and find that GM simply lied . and sevice reps only concerned with GM relations not the customer, theres not many satisfied owners & lots like us who drive carefully to obtain good mileage and fail to do so.PS we have 20000k on our 2011

The EPA has a test for gas milage. Its really a flawed way of telling what a car should get on highway or city. Till this changes you will never get what you want . But I agee with you, till car makers adjust to real world gas mpg , you will have unhappy customers TED

First report on this 2 month old vehicle with 3,000 miles. Not a day goes by without me, or my wife saying that we love this car.

I have been watching forum posts on this vehicle for over 3 years and at times wondered if I would be happy with the fuel economy, which was a primary reason for choosing the 4 cyl, non all wheel drive version. I live in Western Pennsylvania which is very hilly, but not mountainous. The 4 cyl has been more than adequate on performance in my opinion. The 6 speed gearing takes care of any steep hills.

What this shows is that my combined mileage for city & hwy (tanks 1 thru 6) is 25.1 mpg DIC and 23.9 mpg calculated, or 5% less than what the DIC states. My average speed was 30.3 mph, which shows that there is good bit of highway driving mixed in with the city driving. Too difficult to keep track of the exact percentage of each.

My last fill up was after a 354 mile trip from Pittsburgh to Ohio, in which I got 29.3 mpg (DIC) going out and improved to 31.3 (DIC) coming back without resetting. That meant that I actually did better than 31.3 on the trip back as it pulled up the 29.3 average to 31.3.

Going out, there were 4 people in the Nox, no AC, traveling 60-70 mph, on interstate (70%) roads and slower on 2 lane (30%) roads with an occasional town, a few stop lights, and some 35 mph zones.

Coming back, with 4 people, I did more interstate (80%) driving, used the AC, but kept my speed at 55-60 mph. I watched as my trip average continued to climb to 31.3, knowing that I was getting higher if it was continuing to climb. My big surprise was when I filled up and instead of a 5% DIC overstatement error, it calculated out to 32.7 mpg and a 4.5% understatement on the DIC. I did the calculation at the pump and was so surprised that I went back and tried to put more gas into the tank, thinking that it was not full. The nozzle clicked off each time I squeezed it, telling me "hey the tank is full." I did manage to put .5 gallons more into the tank, but it was over full and topped off more than any of my previous fill ups. I will have to see if the DIC understates on my next trip. I wonder if it is due to some software formula used by the DIC. Anyone out there (those of you who check DIC error) have a similar experience where the error flips from 5% overestimated to 4% underestimated on a trip?

So, I averaged over 32 mpg with the AC on and with a full load people. The elevation of both ends of the trip were very close, so there wasn&#146;t an overall elevation factor involved. There was no noticeable wind in either direction that would account for a meaningful impact on economy. The major difference was that I drove 10 mph slower on the interstate on the return trip. My tire pressure was 38 to 39 psi, temperature was 50 degrees going out and 75 returning. I also checked my odometer calibration the first week that I had the car and it was right on.

So, needless to say, I was very pleased knowing that at times I averaged a good bit over 32 mpg, maybe 34 considering all the times that I had stopped for lights, driven at 70 mph and went through reduced speed zones on the two lane roads.

The EPA test for hwy mileage is an indoor test that does not involve stops, hills, wind, cold temperatures, using the A/C or exceeding 60 mph. Probably, the EPA applies a correction factor for that.

I would think that the EPA obtains a sample vehicle from the manufacturer, tests it and then gives a mpg number for that vehicle. That is the number that the manufacturer then publicizes. So, by my experience, one cannot say that GM is misrepresenting on the 32 mpg claim, only that one may have a Equinox with a problem, or a driver that fails to understand all the factors and the influence that each has on mileage.

I would buy another Equinox without any hesitation. Hope this helps those that are concerned about mileage.

H i your comments are very interesting , you seem to have bought one of the few Noxs that seem to achieve what GM claim, but then you have the fwd version ours and many others who have the awd version have economy issues, other then that we do like our vehicle, just upset with fuel economy, and we have done very careful checks on hwy use only ( not interested in city use ) just what we can get from point A-B hwy not close to GM claims.

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear it's not the car because we really like the ride. Just reached 15,000 miles on the car and noticed that we are starting to get better gas mileage on trips - up to 28 mpg, so there is still hope.

In Canada the equinox awd is rated at 41 mpg hwy , our gallons are 1\3 bigger than US gallons , so thats why your mileage is lower than CDN , with a chip installed I am getting 38 mpg hwy , still not what GM claims.

Hi we leave the econo on all the time have not noticed any difference either way . in town only or all the time , supposed to alter shift patterns , far as i am concerned it just sounds good to be in " econo mode "

Eco button or no eco button. Will make no differance for me or you. still only get 25 to 27 on highway. I have 19800 mi, on a four cylinder equinox. We like the equinox but never came close to 32 mpg hwy :sick:

Just a note to say that I own a 2011 Terrain and did own a 2011 Nox, both 4 cyl fwd, each of them average low to mid 20's around town and in highway driving they routinely get high 20's @ 65mph w/air running and if I go up to 75 it drops to 25mph average. This is by the DIC and I just traded the Nox in on 2013 LTZ 4 cyl, awd and with 1700 miles on the odo it averages 25mpg + on the DIC or by manual calculations since I picked it up 2 weeks ago.IMHO you can get the mileage per gallon out of the engines it just takes knowing where your power curve is and how you drive. For myself that is keeing the tach below 2000 rpm for best results. Hope this helps.

Can't figure out the mileage. Drove from Clovis NM to Temple TX last weekend in my 2013 LT2 and averaged 33.9. Coming back on the same roads it was 28.8. My 2011 Malibu routinely gets 34-36 on the road with its 4. My 2003 DeVille Cadillac got better mileage on the road - 30-32 with a 275 HP V8. I am looking forward to finding a certified Cadillac XTS in the next couple of years. I'd like the V6 as well as better gas mileage than the Equinox. Also when you floor the Equinox you hear a sharp engine noise - more of a whine than a roar. Sounds really tacky.

Can't figure out why the gas mileage is poor with the Equinox. You would have expected GM to fix it in the last 3 years. It was bad in 2010. Interesting to note that the ECO button does nothing. Why put it in?

i think the 4 banger is just not up to the job resulting in poor economy and its sounds tinny, Gm should admit it will not achieve what they claim , now we have paint peeling off the plastic front bumper

We bought a new 3.0 litre V6 2012 Equinox in February. It has gotten awesome mileage since new. The highest was 29.2 on the highway, the lowest was 17.7 in the city. We routinely average 19 to 20 in city and always get at least 25 to 27 on highway. This is by actual calculations, not counting on the DIC to be correct. i am a huge fan we now have almost 15000 miles and have not had any problem at all. I run fully synthetic oil that I change myself every 3000 miles, maybe that helps????? I love this vehicle and would purchase another in a heartbeat.

glad to hear you are pleased wih your V6 Eqiuinox , I feel we would have done better with the bigger emgine, still having issuses crop up , on star quit working ( antena ) couple warning lites requireing service , and had have front bumper repainted .

We're sorry that you are not satisfied with your Equinox. In an earlier post, I noticed that you're writing from Canada. Have you already contacted GM of Canada about this? If you would like to, they can be contacted at 800-263-3777 (Hours: M-F 7:30am - 11:30pm, Sat 7:30am - 6:00 EST).